Free Awakening the Wolf by Crymsyn Hart Page A

longer.
    Tonight Illiana would become his. He was not going to take no for an answer. Belik was not sure how she was going to react to him. Probably not too well if he told her the truth, but he did not want to lie to her. He puffed up his chest and fluffed his feathers. He prayed that she would accept him. He was not sure what she would say. If Illiana rejected him, then he was not sure what he would do. There were other girls who had shown interest in him, but he had never thought about them for mating. Maybe he could be happy with one of them. Belik pushed the idea from his thoughts and concentrated on flying faster because he had lost sight of Illiana. If she disappeared, then he did not know if he would ever get up the courage to do it again. As he wove through the branches, he pulled his wings closer and dove further to the ground. When he did, he caught sight of Illiana; his emotions were bolstered, and he knew it was all going to be okay.

Chapter Five
     
    The sounds of the night enveloped Illiana as she walked. Crickets chirped, and a few deer roamed among the trees. It was dangerous for deer since they could end up being dinner for the wolves. Thoughts whirled around in her mind of everything that had happened. The night grew cold, but she did not. The fire seemed to live inside of her, and if she needed, she could pull on the warmth to keep her from freezing. It was several miles by foot back to the nests, and she did not care to fly, but she needed to have the earth beneath her feet. The longer she walked, the more the urge to run on all fours crept up on her. Even then it was not complete. She yearned to be nearer to the ground and chasing the animals. But it was not a good idea to take the wolf form right then in case others were looking. So she kept on two feet. A few leaves twirled through the air, dropping from the canopy above, and settled on her hair. The hair on the back of her head stood up. It seemed as if she was being watched. When Illiana glanced at the trees, there were no eyes staring at her, but that did not mean members of the flock were not spying on her. They could be soundless as any good hunter, the same way the wolves were.
    A breeze stirred her hair. Illiana stopped and listened. It was faint, but she heard a twig snap. She paused. It would be miles yet before she got to the copse of trees where the aeries were located and fanned out from the center of the great tree there. She was nowhere near the wolves’ village, so it could be anything or anyone. Taking a deep breath, she then kept on walking and swallowed the little bit of fear creeping up on her. The moon gave off little light. Another crack of the underbrush echoed through the wood. The air wound around her arm and jerked her off balance. Illiana caught herself and got the message it was trying to warn her of something. Someone was following her.
    Illiana slipped behind a tree and waited. She heard a footstep this time, the slight crunching of the dry leaves underfoot. Whoever was after her was trying to be silent, a dutiful hunter, but they were not doing a very good job of it. She counted her breaths, waited a few seconds, and then stepped out from behind the tree.
    “Why are you following me?” she snapped.
    Belik stopped and nearly ran into her. “I’m sorry. I-I’ve wanted to talk to you.”
    “Why would you want to talk to me?” The fury she felt building inside of her seemed to flame the fire spirit she had taken inside of her. The man before her had been trying to speak to her for the three months since their initiation. Illiana had put him off because she was so focused on meeting with Coret and figuring out the other side of her. When she was not home, her mother would tell her that Belik had been by. He certainly was persistent.
    He put up his hands and tried to placate her. “I’ve been trying to get your attention ever since the initiation ceremony. Don’t you know that I want to be with you? You know I’ve